The Message
by fairytaleofdust
Summary: Late night. Kate can't sleep. she decides to send a message to her best friend Lanie, asking her to come over for a girls' talk. except she sends it to the wrong person. Her other best friend.
1. Texting

I believe I could continue the story, but yet not sure if right after I stopped, what would force me to change its rating (xD), or if just continue it with a development of their relationship. Just let me know what you think, ok?

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The clock was showing 3:15. Everything around her was sleeping, but her mind couldn't. The sheets were messy under her body, looking like a whirlwind from all the tossing and turning all night.

"I can't", she said, giving up and going to the living room.

She got a glass of water and sat on the couch, both feet up on it, and threw a blanked over them. Then, she reached for her cellphone. "I wonder if Lanie is up", she thought, grinning while typing a message on the phone, wondering what would her best friend think of this high school act.

'can't sleep. Can u come over?'

She hit send, and only then noticed the name on the message.

TO CASTLE. MESSAGE SENT.

The beep on his cellphone brought him back from his mind. Castle was sitting on his study, computer open, the feared blank page in front of him. He was trying to write, but his mind took him far away instead. That day had been strange. Following Slaughter around didn't go as planned. He wanted to run away from Beckett, and she ended up saving him. And putting her job at risk. For him. He couldn't figure that out yet.

He reached for his phone, and had to check twice to believe it. He even pinched himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming. It left a red mark on his arm.

She thought about sending an apology message. But then Dr. Burke's words came to her head. "Maybe it's what you didn't do". She could consider it 'doing something', even though it wasn't planned, and she decided to wait and see what would happen. It was a high school act, anyway, she couldn't go anymore 16 than that. If anything went wrong, she could blame it on the insomnia.

His hands were shaking while he thought on what to write back. The blank page now was the reply space on his phone, and that was much harder. He checked the clockon his laptop. 3:40. "Damn! Let's get this over with", he said, clicking the cancel button. He closed the computer, grabbed the car keys and left.

The radio was playing old songs, that late night programming that played nonstop because there was no dj. Kate thought that the tacky lyrics of that 80's collection fit the moment. It was 4:15 already, and no reply. She checked the message. It had been sent at 3:21. He was sleeping. Or he ignored it. Anyway, her inner 16 year old was disappointed. She just kept staring at the window, watching the sky shift colours as the night ended. It was now the moment to think on how to erase the message on his phone before he could read it. She couldn't bear the awkwardness. Maybe, if he's sleeping, she could break into his house and erase the message, or maybe…

A knock on the door made her heart jump. She nearly fell while trying to get out of the blanket and run to the door. She took a few seconds to breathe and pretend she wasn't rushing when she opened the door.

Her inner 16 year old squeaked silently inside her, and her hands were shaking, one on the door knob, the other hidden behind her, but she kept the 'oh, hey, wasn't expecting you here, at 4:30 in the morning, after a message I sent you by accident but not exactly accident because I do want you here' attitude. He didn't look so calm and happy.

'So', he just raised the phone to show her the message, and looked like he was waiting for an explanation. She wasn't expecting this reaction. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out if it. She didn't want to tell him it was meant for Lanie. He'd go away. It'd be over. She didn't want that.

'What do you want from me, Kate?' he said, serious. 'I'm sick of this. Do you think this is funny? This is your idea of dealing with what happened? To what I said when you were shot?'

"I don't remem…"

"ok, cut it. We both know you do!" she was definitely not waiting foor that. So that's why he was acting strange. He was hurt. She had hurt him.

'How?'

'I heard you. With that suspect.'

''Rick, I…"

"I know. You were ashamed. You didn't know how to dump me. But you have to understand I thought I'd never see you again, that you'd…" they both held their breath when the word 'die' came to their minds, completing his sentence. "Anyway, what you did was far more cruel, Kate!"

"I know, but… wait, what? Dump you?" Oh, you stupid!

He didn't know how to react to that. What's with the surprise? Unless…

"I was healing, Castle. I was dealing with the fact that someone out there wants to kill me. Almost did. I didn't want to pull you into that."

"I've always been in that, Kate." He thought about the board at his study, with all the information he's gathered about her case. Better not mention that now. He just entered the apartment, their eyes locked into each other's. He held her hand on his, feeling them shaking.

"They tried to kill me, Castle! Open air, everyone I love there. You were right next to me. They could've hit you! I have to catch these sons of bitches before I... If anything happens to you…"

He didn't think. He just pulled her closer and kissed her, releasing her hands to cup her chin with his. Her arms automatically went around his neck, and her hand grabbed his hair nervously. He felt the pain of his hair being pulled, but didn't care, his arms now around her waist, going slightly under her shirt, rubbing her curves. She stopped the kiss and looked right into his eyes. They both smiled, looking relieved.

"I love you, Richard Castle"


	2. The door

Kate woke up startled by a loud bark of a dog. She had no idea where it could've come from, she had no dogs, and last thing she remembered, she was in her apartment. Oh my God! The fear ran through her spine as she started to stand up. That's when she realized she was naked. She held the blanket loosely in front of her body right when the dog barked again. And she found it. It was Bubbles, the neighbor's lab, right by her door. Her open front door.

"Bubbles!" called the old Mr. Reynolds, and she muttered a 'crap', hiding behind her couch.

'Detective Beckett?' he called into the house. She then came out of her hiding place to ensure he wouldn't call the police or whatever.

"Good Morning, Mr. Reynolds!" she said, trying to sound as natural as she could, being the naked lady talking to her neighbor about the door open overnight.

'Kate, dear, is everything alright?" he asked, looking genuinely worried, holding his dog. That's when the noise of a flush came from the bathroom, and the old man understood. He held the doorknob and, trying not to laugh, started to close it. "I'll just close it for you, dear."

"Thank you!" she screamed as he was closing the door, red as a strawberry.

Castle came out of the bathroom just after that, and she rushed towards him, slapping his chest. "The door was open! How come you didn't see the door open? My neighbor…"

"Oh, wow! Stop it! I just went to pee, and was still sleepy! Not my fault!" She was still slapping him, now a little more like caressing him.

"So, the door was open all this time, hun?" He laughed, and she put her head against his chest, muttering a crying sound, desperate in shame.

"I've got a reputation with my neighbors, you know?"

"I'm sure you do, my dear. And you've just improved it!"

She now punched him lightly on the shoulder, while he kissed the back of her head, still laughing. He then cupped his hands under her chin, pulling her head up to meet his eyes.

"Good morning, my love" he said, clearly trying to put the neighbor incident behind. She smiled, and replied. "Good morning", and they kissed. The taste of him in her mouth, his shape on her touch was still something that Kate couldn't believe it was happening. She laced her fingers behind him, locking her arms around his waist, and pulled him closer, eager for more. He gently pulled her up to carry her to the improvised bed of blankets and cushions on the carpet. He put her on the floor slowly and even more gently lied on top of her. She moaned under her breath as he went down to kiss her breasts, caressing the back of his head and reaching to kiss his forehead. He kissed her on the lips and said, breaking the moment with a silly humour.

"We could open the door, if you like".


	3. Pet Names

_Don't forget to review it, please!_

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Castle woke up with the smell of bacon. It filled him and his stomach reacted with a growl, signaling that he was hungry. He brushed his hands on the blankets under him and got himself up, looking for his pants. He found them on the floor, next to the couch. He caught them, wearing them while walking towards the smell.

Kate had her hair moist, and she glowed when she notice he was coming. He went behind her and kissed her ear while holding her tight, looking over her shoulder to what she was cooking – eggs and toast, along with the bacon. Her hair smelled like flowers, and he sniffed it before walking around the counter and sitting on one of the stools.

"What time is it?" noticing just now that he hadn't checked ever since he arrived at her house, late night.

"A little past 10" she said. He looked surprised. "Why? Is there somewhere else you have to be?"

"Nowhere" He said, looking at her, loving the picture. "But shouldn't you be at work, detective?"

She chuckled at his disapproving tone, as if he really wanted her to give up on him for work. She turned off the burner, put the eggs onto a plate and gave it to him, then went to pick the toasts from the toaster. He started eating, and they remained in silence for a while.

"I was thinking we could go watch 'Heat Wave' later tonight" She said, between bites on her toast. He smiled at the thought o her making plans for their evening. It was so natural it didn't even look like it had started just a few hours back. "I mean, I still haven't seen it. Unless you don't want to watch it again." He had seen it at the premiere, but she didn't go. They weren't at the best of terms. He had taken one of his disposable bimbos, who kept groping and kissing him while he wanted to pay attention to the film.

"No, I don't mind. I think it's a good idea. Finally I'll be able to see Nikki Heat with my muse." She smiled. The first time he had called her muse, she had hated it. But now, it was flattering. "But we don't need to go to the theater. I've got it on dvd."

It was her turn to put on the disapproving tone. "You pirated yourself, Castle?"

"No!" He said. "The studio sent me a previous release. Advantages of being the author" he grinned.

"Well, I do think I prefer watching at home. It's cozier". They looked at each other, and smiled, thinking the same thing. This time, maybe he wouldn't mind the gropes and kisses while watching, and they could always pause the film.

Her cellphone rang when she finished her eggs and she put the plate in the sink before reaching for the device. She slid to answer and put it to her ear.

"Beckett."

Castle watched her as she only nod and said 'u-hum' before turning it off. He grabbed her hand when she turned her attention to him.

"We've got a body. Wanna come?"

"Sure" he replied, anxious to return to their partnership. But then it hit him. "How is it going to be?"

"What?"

"Us. At the precinct. Shall we tell everyone?"

She stopped to think, her face showing she hadn't thought of that before. "Better not."

"Why not?"

"I want to enjoy it before having everybody on top of us making questions. Besides, I have no idea how Gates would react to this, and knowing her, she might as well just kick you off. And I don't like the idea of giving up on you as a partner just because I have you as a boyfriend now." She stopped. They hadn't talked about it yet. Should she call him her boyfriend? He smiled.

"Boyfriend, hun? I like the sound of that. Hello, I'm Richard Castle, mystery writer, civilian NYPD and Kate Beckett's boyfriend." He grinned. She laughed out loud. They locked lips for a while. She then stood with her face close to his, eyes closed as she enjoyed that moment. He stroked her cheek with his fingertips, and kissed her again. "So, now that I'm your boyfriend, we should work out pet names."

She opened her eyes, startled. "What?"

"I don't think princess or teddy bear suits you, so I think sweetheart or maybe sweetie-pie, or muffin".

"You're joking, right?" He noticed she looked shocked.

"Too soon?"

"How about we keep it at Kate and Rick for now, hun?"

"Ok" He sounded disappointed.

"Let's go. Ryan and Espo are waiting for us."

"Maybe I should go home and change first. And it would also be good, because we wouldn't arrive together."

"Ok." She headed to her room to change. She stopped by the door, and turned to face him. "See you there, then." And she blew him a kiss.

"See you there, honey." She came back to face him after the 'honey'. "No? How about dear, then?"

"Go home, Castle!"


	4. Crime Scene

_So guys, thanks for all the likes and reviews. Please keep them coming! This chapter came out shorter than I wanted, but it's probably because that's my first try on writing a case. If you got any ideas to help to develop the case, please let me know!_

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Beckett easily recognized the place she should go. A small crowd of curious people was gathered in front of an abandoned house on the corner, held by a police line. She saw Ryan trying to keep them away. He saw her and they nod their heads as a 'good morning'. He then held the tape up for her to duck under.

'so, what've we got?'

'male, Caucasian, approximately 27." he pointed to a couple sitting on the ack of an ambulance. The girl didn't look older than 18, and was wearing one of those blankets that scream 'hey! I'm in shock! See? I've got a blanket!', and was apparently trying to ignore the guy's attempts to console her.

'They broke in looking for privacy. This place has been abandoned for years now. She tripped and fell onto the body. She was still screaming when we got here.'

'That's what a call a mood killer!' they both chuckled, and she went inside.

She found ME Lanie Parish already by the corpse, examining it.

'Hey Lanie!' she said, and then noticed it sounded a bit more excited than normal. Her friend noticed also. 'So, what can you say?'

'Well, based on lividity, I'd say he's been dead for about 10 hours, what put TOD at around 1am this morning. Cute couple found him around 6. Preliminary exam shows that COD is a knock on the head' she pointed to a nasty wound on the left side of the head, ' but apparently he suffered a lot of violence before dying.' she held up the t-shirt to show bruises on the side of his body.

'Do you think he was beaten to death?'

'Possibly. These bruises could be kicks with a heavy shoe, maybe boots, but the knock on the head seems to be some sort of weapon, maybe a baseball bat. I'll know more after I take him back to the lab. Oh, hey Castle!'

Beckett got up at the exact moment Castle stopped right behind her, and she felt his breath on her neck when he replied to Lanie. A chill went down her spine. She turned her head to look at him, and all she wanted was to give him a kiss. He took a deep breath, showing that he wanted the same, and then he kneeled by the corpse, running away from the feeling.

"Oh look! Iron man!" Castle noticed on the man's t-shirt. He must've been one of those die-hard geeks!"

"What, Castle, you don't approve of grown men liking comic books?" she said ironically, since she knew he has a vast collection. And so did she, by the way.

"I didn't say that. At least I don't go around wearing geeky t-shirts, like a kid."

"Ok. Maybe this can help us identify him, actually. Maybe he's part of a forum or something on the internet. Lanie, anything else?"

"No. I'll take geek here with me to the morgue." And she got up. It was now time for castle to freeze at the feeling of Beckett's proximity when he got up. Lanie gave them a suspicious look, but then only signaled to one of her assistants that he could come pick up the body. "If I find something else, I'll let you know". She said to her friend,and left.

Beckett then moved to talk to Esposito, who was checking with of of the CSU guys.

"Hey Espo."

"Hey. Well, CSU found nothing yet, and when I say nothing, I mean nothing." He turned to her and Castle while the other man walked away. "No prints, blood, nothing. There's no sign of blood spatter, and if he died with a bang to the head, there would be blood everywhere. Apparently he was killed elsewhere, and then dumped here. And by very expert hands, or at least smart. But they are not done yet."

"Ok. Let's go to the precinct to ID him, so we can get started"

"Deal." Espo said. She then turned around and bumped into Castle. That didn't go unnoticed by Esposito, but he just walked away.

"Castle!" she said between her teeth. He couldn't hold a laugh.

"What?"

She squinted and frowned, but said nothing else. When she walked away, she didn't avoid bumping into him again, but now she used this to hold his hand for a few seconds.


	5. The childhood lovers

_**Oh I'm so happy I'm being able to write a long story with this! Thank you so much for your comments. Please, keep them coming! it helps a lot! **_

_**If you have any suggestions or ideas about the case, please tell me! xD**_

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She was really concentrated on her computer when he came closer with her coffee. He put the mug on the desk, and then slightly touched the hand that was resting beside the keyboard, his warm fingertips startling her. They shared looks as he grinned, pleased with her reaction, and she said thank you, also smiling.

Esposito interrupted the moment by coming to her desk with a file.

"Found him!" he said with his strong voice, startling both of them. Again, he narrowed his eyes, feeling that there was something weird going on.

"Yeah… Espo?" She said, taking him back from his moment train of thought. He just continued.

"He is Adam Baker. 27, married. His wife is coming as we speak."

"Ah, great. His wife." Beckett said, more as a sad comment than an ironic one. She didn't like to deal with grieving wives, and she had hoped that geeky boy with the Iron Man t-shirt would have a mother, tops. She could deal with mothers, friends. But not wives or husbands.

The woman arrived about 10 minutes later, and both Beckett and Castle went into the waiting room to talk to her. She was already crying a lot, holding a box of napkins on her lap. She followed them with her eyes as they sat, and then asked, even before Kate could introduce herself and Castle.

"Where did you find him? How was he? Do you know who did this?"

"Mrs. Baker, please, calm down. I understand you are extremely shaken and desperate for answers, but we need to go slow."

The woman nod in agreement, and whispered a 'sorry'.

"I'm Detective Kate Beckett, and this is my partner, Richard Castle. We found Adam in an abandoned house, but it seems that he wasn't killed there. Do you know if he had any interest in the place, or knew someone who did?"

"No, not at all" she replied, trying to remember if her husband had mentioned that place before.

"Do you know of anyone who would want to harm Adam in any way, Mrs. Baker?" Asked Castle.

"No! Adam was great! He had few friends, but all of them would die for us." She noticed the bad comment. "Oh, sorry." She gasped. "And he was a very enclosed person, didn't go out much. He used to work from home."

"He was a programmer, right?" confirmed Beckett, remembering the information she read from his file.

"Yeah. He was creating a new game. He was really close to a deal with Marvel, so he could use their characters on it. It would be great!"

Beckett and Castle shared looks, both knowing what that could mean. A very good motive.

"was there anyone helping him, like a partner, or assistant? Someone who knew about this deal?"  
"He worked alone. From home. No one knew. Only me."

"And did he mention to you where was he going the night he was murdered?" Castle tried. Maybe, if she knew, they could find the real crime scene.

"No! I didn't even know he was out! I went to bed early, because I was too tired. I'm a teacher, and the kids yesterday were really excited, there wore me off. I left him there, where he always used to be, at his computer."

They started to give up on getting information from the woman when she remembered.  
"Oh! He sometimes would consult on the internet, some programming forums. He said he knew some people, friends, somehow, and that they were checking if he was on the right path. Maybe he told about the deal to one of those people."

"Thank you, Mrs. Baker. This is very useful!" Kate was already about to get up, eager to go ask Ryan to look up for the man's computer for all the users he kept contact on those forums, when Mrs. Baker just started talking again, and she had to sit.

"You know, it's funny how life can be. We grew up together, Adam and I. I was his neighbor since I was 5. Our mothers became very close, and so did we. When we became teenagers, he stayed as a geek, loving those comic books and sci-fi films, but I went away from that, looking to be part of the 'queen bees' at school. But even then, I could never go away from him. I would do my best to defend him when the girls picked on him. We kept close, even then. He saw me go through boyfriends and heartbreaks, and never told me." Her voice weakened. "It was only 7 months ago that he told me that he loved me. And Oh, I loved to hear that. If only he knew he could've had me so long ago! We got married 3 days after! Crazy! But we figured we already knew each other well enough. A lifetime! I love to cook for him, clean his things, watch him as he worked, so excited showing me some progress on the game." The woman was sobbing, and Kate couldn't help having a tear running through her face. She reached for Castle's hand, and held it tight, and he squeezed her hand back as a response.

They said good bye and watched while Mrs. Baker went to the elevator. They were still holding hands, breathing deep, the beautiful story of those childhood lovers and their sad ending. Ryan came behind them, and he surely noticed their hands held tight. He smirked before startling them.

"So, any luck with the wife?" he spoke, really close to them, and they parted, scared.

"Uh.. yeah. Yeah. She said he was close to having a very good deal with one of his projects, a good motive, and he might've shared this on internet forums. I want you to go through his computer to see whom he kept contact with."

"On it!" he uttered, observing Castle's eyes still wide open from his scare, and pat him on the back before going to his desk.

"What does that mean?" Castle said. "Do you think he…"

"Ryan is smart." Kate whispered. "But not that smart. Just go on"

"You know, it's been quite hard to be around you today, Detective" He whispered to her ears, using their proximity while walking back to her desk to disguise the teasing. She smiled, and just said "ditto", turning her attentions to the murder board while he sat on his chair.


	6. Lanie

_**Hey guys! sorry I took so long to continue. I'm not quite sure about this chapter. I wanted something, but I don't feel like I have done it right. xD thanks for the replies!**_

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Beckett's phone buzzed and almost fell from the desk with the vibration. She picked it seconds before it reached the edge, slid to answer and spoke to the phone:

"Beckett"

"Hey, girl! Got some news from you from geeky boy" said Lanie on the other side of the line.

"Great. I'm coming up!"

"See you later. Oh, and Beckett."

"Yeah?"

"Come alone" and Lanie mysteriously hung up. Why would she want to talk to Beckett alone about the case? Maybe it wasn't about the case, then.

"I'm going to see Lanie, she's got news on Adam" she said to Castle, already picking up her jacket, gun and badge.

"Great! Let's go!" he got up from his chair, but she stopped him with her hand slightly touching his chest.

"She wants to see me alone." Beckett said.

"Why?"

"I don't know, but I think she wants to talk about something else after talking about Adam".

"What?" said castle. "You don't think…?"

She raised her eyes to see Ryan and Esposito across the room at their desks. They were concentrated in their work, and nothing seemed odd. She shook the idea from her head and said to Castle to do the same.

"Maybe is something about her and Espo. They've been on and off lately, and I know there's going to come a time when this won't be enough, and I'll be the one who's going to have to listen to it." She smiled, thinking that she would gladly do this to her friend, since it was Lanie who heard her talking about Castle and her doubts.

_/_

Once at the OCME, Beckett found her way to Lanie's lab, and greeted her friend while she was working on Adam, stitching him up.

"Hey Lanie! So, what have you got?"

"Geeky boy here had a hard time before dying. He was beaten and if he hadn't died with the stroke to the head, I doubt he would've survived the other blows."

"Could you identify the weapon?"

"Not only could, but I found evidence of it in the wound" she pointed to the open wound on Adam's head. "I found chips of wood here, what means he was beaten with something of wood, most likely a baseball bat. I already sent what I found to CSU to analyze. The other blows seems also to have been done with a bat, but this one" and she showed a dark bruise on his waist "It's definitely from kicking, with one of those army boots"

"That helps narrow down the suspects. Not much, but it does. Thanks Lanie."

The ME smiled to her friend, and then grabbed Beckett's hand, leading her to her desk. They both sat, and Lanie took a breath before talking. Beckett only observed as her BFF had her mysterious moment.

"So, Kate. Do you have anything to tell me?"

"What? Why would I have something to tell you?" Beckett said, trying to hide the truth. She had so much to tell her friend!

"c'mon, Becks! I know you, and you're hiding something from me! I can feel it!"

"Lanie, you're being paranoid! Besides, we only met this morning, what could you possibly have caught in such a short encounter?"

"A lot can be seen in a few movements, in details. You see, with a few splinters I must be able to say what killed Adam, brand, size, everything. Now, spill."

Beckett looked deep inside Lanie's eyes, pondering if there would be any consequence if she told her friend. I mean, it would be only Lanie, and Castle didn't have to know she told her. It would be a secret between best friends, just like school girls. But then she remembered Lanie sometimes spent nights with Esposito, and she could tell him something, and then it would be unstoppable. She would love to tell everything to someone, but she had made a promise to Castle, and so she decided to stay quiet.

"Lanie, stop it. I'm fine, nothing is wrong, ok?"

Lanie stopped as she was trying to get up and get out. "Girl, I saw your tension with Castle this morning. It was worse than usual." Beckett was afraid her smart friend would just do the math and figure out, and once she did, it would be impossible for her to hide it. "You gotta tell him everything! It's getting worse, seriously. I don't know how come you two haven't attacked each other and done it wherever you were yet."

"I know, Lanie. But I still need some time" she lied. "I'll talk to him"

"Kate. We all think we have time, but we don't, really." She pointed to Adam, lying cold on her table.

"I know" Kate put up her best 'I understand and appreciate your advice' face, and left. Lanie still wasn't buying it.


	7. Never try to fool family!

Beckett had called Castle and told him she would just check some things and then go home, so he could meet her there in a few hours. He then went to his loft to make an overnight bag. When he was coming down the stairs with the bag, he was stopped with the surprised looks of Alexis and Martha, sitting on the couch.

"I ordered pizza" Alexis said. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Yeah, I…" damn! He had promised Beckett they would keep it a secret. But now, what would he tell his daughter and mother. "I'm…"

"Oh, Richard, just say it. You have a date, don't you?"

"Yeah!" great! It's not exactly lying, it's withholding information. He quickly rushed to the door.

"Another stewardess?" Alexis stopped him, her voice demonstrating her disappointment. She just hated that his father was having meaningless dates again. At least while he was waiting for detective Beckett, he wasn't going around with shallow women, and even though he was always at the precinct, she could spend more quality time with him. At least he wasn't trying to make her interested in these girls' stories.

"No." Castle said, without thinking. Now she's going to ask who it is.

"Who is it, then?" She came closer to him and grabbed his hand. "It looks like it isn't a first date, right? Or are you just feeling lucky?" she was clearly manipulating him to stay home out of guilt.

"Alexis, lovely daughter of mine. I'm sure you don't want to know these kinds of details in your father's life, do you?" he kissed her forehead, and smile to her frowned face.

"Ok then. But I won't save you a slice!"

"It's okay. I won't hold any grudges. Bye Mother!"

"Oh, wait, wait, wait, little man." Now it was time for Martha to come closer, while Alexis came back to her lap top on the coffee table. "Maybe Alexis isn't interested, but I'm more than willing to be interested for the two of us." Castle exhaled, nervous. "Don't you moan on me. C'mon." and she led him to the kitchen counter.

"Mother, I have to go!" he moaned, like a young kid who's too anxious to go to soccer practice, and have to stay a little while to tell his mother how's the day been.

"You seem far too happy to be just another girl" she pointed out, going round the counter and getting the wine from the fridge. She poured two glasses, and he realized he would have to stay for at least that drink. "Tell me. It's Beckett, isn't it?"

He gasped, choking on the wine. He coughed a couple of times before being able to answer. "Where do you take these ideas, Mother?"

"Oh, I just know you too well."

"Well, I told you! Beckett doesn't want me. I'm trying to move on"

"and you were doing this in a very smart manner by going to Vegas and grabbing the first bimbo you could find!" she said, sarcastically.

"Jacinta was a fine lady" he lied, and she laughed out loud.

"Jacinta could only be called a lady because she's a woman, and that's questionable." She took a sip of her wine and gestured, artistically. "Oh, fine nectar from the Gods! C'mon, drink your wine" She gestured and he took a sip, gripping tightly to the overnight bag on his hands. He then looked nervously to the door, then his phone, and she gave up. For now.

"Alright, then. Go! Get out of here."

He didn't even questioned, and went towards the door. "You kids have a good time! And tell Beckett I'm sending regards" she waved.

"Beckett?" Alexis squeaked, from the couch.

"your grandma is going nuts." He said, twirling his finger to his ear. "we need to go searching for homes" he whispered.

"Yeah, sure. I'm the crazy one!" Martha was now going to the couch to sit with her granddaughter. "Your father, my dear, has a secret girlfriend, and he really is trying to convince us that it's not you know who."

"Ah, right!" Alexis smirked. "Alright, dad. Have a good time with… whoever it is."

He gave up, and just went to the door while the two women laughed.

While waiting for the elevator, he took his phone from his pocket and tapped a message to Beckett.

"On my way".

The phone buzzed less than a minute after.

"Already here waiting. Wanna pizza or Chinese?"

He grinned and tapped a reply, walking into the elevator and pressing the button to the parking lot.

"I want you!"


	8. All the lovers

**Hey guys! thanks again for all the reviews. I'm so glad you like it! So, this time I decided to bring some fluff back to the story xD. Hope you like it!**

**and I may or may not post another chapter later, so keep the ideas coming!**

**Ah Oh. You know I don't own Castle, right?**

* * *

Castle stopped by the grocery to buy a bottle of champagne and strawberries, thinking that it would fit their plans. When he arrived at her door, he took a few moments to cool down his excitement before knocking. But when he did, he noticed the door was already open.

Using the skills he had acquired after 4 years following the police, Castle walked in quietly and shut the door slowly. Then he put down his bag by the door and the groceries by the counter, always observing the empty apartment door to any sudden noise or movement.

He was walking slowly, almost on his toes, his heart beating fast with all the possibilities. His voice barely came out when he first called 'Kate?', so he cleaned his throat and called again.

"Kate?"

No reply. There wasn't any noise either. 'Maybe she went somewhere and forgot the door open. She does that, sometimes.' The thought came to his mind and he grinned, remembering their first morning and the door incident. This thought relieved his anxiety a bit, but he was still afraid something had happened to her.

He called again, reaching slowly the door that lead to her bedroom, and while he was checking the living room one more time before going to the bedroom, his back to the door, a song started playing, startling him. The door was open, and there was Kate, dressed in a beautiful and small purple lingerie, moving slowly to the beat of 'All the lovers', by Kylie Minogue.

He gasped and widened his eyes with the shock. Never in his dreams had he thought it would be possible to see Detective Beckett like that. And he loved her for surprising him once again.

"Sit!" she ordered, point to the couch. He stumbled on his way, incapable of taking his eyes from her. She giggled when he almost fell on the carpet.

"I brought strawberries. And champagne" Why? Why talk about groceries right now? He felt really dumb. She only smiled and put a finger to her lips. "Shh!"

Kylie started singing, and Kate started moving slowly towards him. He was still shocked, but enjoying every single movement of her hips, her hands sliding from her breasts to her tights, the transparent sheer silk flying and showing the sweet skin of her hips, that he knew smelled like cherries.

_All the lovers  
that have gone before  
they don't compare  
to you_

She was singing the lyrics to the chorus together with Kylie and gesturing along them, waving her eyes on "All the lovers" and pointing to him on "to you".

He locked eyes with her, and grinned, shaking his head to the beat of the song. She smiled, amazed by this. She had never done that before, and even on her sexiest moment, that man was looking at her eyes, and not everything else. Yeah, he really loved her.

Then she laughed out loud when this thought was interrupted by his eyes going down and stopping at her legs. She placed her foot between his legs, stopping him when he gestured to touch her leg. She gently brushed the tip of her shoe on his groin, and he moaned.

_Feel  
Can't you see there's so much here to feel  
Deep inside in your heart  
You know I'm real  
Can't you see that this is really higher higher higher higher_

She came closer to him, and he completely forgot how to breathe. Her lips were inches from his, and he really wanted to kiss them, but she backed out when he tried. She held his hands to his back, and started singing again.

_Breathe  
I know you find it hard  
But baby breathe  
Lying next to me  
It's all you need  
And I'll take you there  
I'll take you higher higher higher higher_

Her mouth was extremely close to his, and it tickled her. Their eyes were deep into each others, and she could feel his eager breath on her lips. She couldn't help it. She started laughing.

He frowned surprised by this reaction, and she threw herself on him, holding her stomach, laughing really hard that he couldn't avoid laughing himself.

"What?" he said.

"OH. Oh my God. Rick! I'm sorry. I'm…" and she started laughing again. "I can't. I just!"

"What?" she was laying on his lap, and he put a hand on her back to help her up. She was hiding her face with her hands.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. But I really suck at this whole sexy thing".

"Oh, c'mon, Kate. You are the sexiest woman I know."

She looked at him through her fingers, and smiled. Then, kissed him on the cheek.

"Did you like it?"

"Yeah! Definitely!"

"Even after I burst into laughing?"

"Even then." He smiled, and went to kiss her neck.

"I wanted to be femme fatale, but it was so funny!" she confessed, putting her hands around him while he went from her neck to her jaw. "You should've seen your face when I opened the bedroom door."

"You are a femme fatale to me even in your pajamas"

She chuckled, and then kissed his ear. The moment was set, and there was no more laughing. He lied her down on the couch and moved his hips slowly to come out from under her. She opened her legs to accommodate him between them.

"It seems I'll never be able to meet your room" He said, kissing her with passion.


	9. Strawberries and suspects

Rick went to the kitchen and prepared two glasses with champagne with strawberries. He then took them to the couch, where Kate was distracted observing him. He sighed. The sight of her lying there, beautiful, the shawl she has decorating her couch now covering her naked torso. She smiled to him, and he sat on the couch. She put her legs over him and then sat to drink, holding the shawl against her chest.

"Do you think it's going to work, lying to everybody?" Castle asked, taking a sip of his champagne.

"Not for long, I know." Kate chuckled. "Lanie put me on the corner this afternoon."

"I knew it! Did you tell her anything?"

"No. But I'm going to be honest with you, it was hard not to. I don't know. At the same time I want to enjoy this without labeling anything or telling people, I want to tell everybody."

"Me too! I mean, it's not like we're doing something wrong. Is it?" after all she was the one who decided to keep it quiet.

"No! Of course not! I love you, Castle!" her eyes sparkled, and he smiled.

"I love you too."

They remained a few minutes in silence, and she got distracted by the strawberry at the bottom of her glass. She inserted two fingers on it and slowly pulled it out, throwing it into her mouth right after.

"So" he broke the silence. "Are we going to tell everybody, then?"

She took a deep breath, and looked up as if she was thinking. Then, she took his hand and began to draw circles on his palm with her index finger.

"Ok. We're telling everybody" They both smiled, happy with that decision. It was great to be just the two of them, but they had to involve their friends and family in the happiest moment of their lives.

"but we're telling them together. Tomorrow night, at the Haunt."

"Ok. Even though I know my mother already know it. She was scary earlier tonight, telling everything. I made my best not to give it away, but she was like a psychic, incredible!"

"It's hard to fool Martha. The same happened with Lanie. That's why I think it's best to just tell. They might be sad if we take too long. After all, they are our most faithful shippers" She laughed.

He got up and went for the bowl of strawberries and the bottle of champagne on the counter, and they spent a while talking and eating and drinking. It was a soft moment, and they both loved the simplicity of it.

It was almost 2 in the morning when he tilted his head back and rubbed his hands on his eyes, demonstrating he was sleepy. She ate the last strawberry in the bowl, and then got on her feet.

"C'mon, Castle. It's time"

"Time for what?" he said, puzzled, and then yawned. She stretched her arm, asking for his hand. He took it gently.

"It's time for you to meet my room".

And they both walked towards the room.

She woke up with the buzz of her phone on the nightstand. she reached for it and could see, barely, that it was Ryan. She turned and then slid to answer.

"Beckett"

"Oh, sorry. Did I wake you?" Ryan said, worried.

"No, Ryan. It's okay. any news on the case?" She rubbed her eyes and looked at the alarm clock. it was 8:15. She didn't hear it ring at 7:00.

"Yeah. I went through his computer. He kept contact with a few people on the foruns, but 3 names caught my eye. magicgamer3, gamelord57 and gamedesigner2. One of them, gamedesigner2, got in touch with Adam outside the forum. They exchanged emails for over 2 months. I looked at the messages, and it was clear. Adam was about to hire him to help with the Marvel project. He never told anything in the messages, but they arranged to meet a few times. Guess what?"

"they met the day Adam died" She said, now fully awake and interested on what Ryan had to say.

"Bingo!"

"Have we got a name?"

"Yeah. Simon Washburne. We're bringing him in now. Do you wanna do the honors?"

Beckett grinned. "Be right there." and hung up.

She placed the phone back on the nightstand and turned on the bed to wake Castle. he had his back to her, and was deep sleeping. she gently caressed his belly and kissed the back of his neck.

"Rick? hey. wake up, will you?"

"No mom. just 10 more minutes. I won't be late, I swear" He said, still sleeping. She laughed.

"Hey, sleeping beauty. Let's go! We've got a suspect!" she was now rubbing her finger on his ear, and he slapped her hand, as if it was a bug. she then slid her hands on his sides and gropped him. He opened his eyes widely.

"Oh! wow! Good morning to you too!" he turned on his back and held her close, kissing her. She broke the kiss and hurried him.

"c'mon. we've gotta go!" Then she got out of his embrace and left the bed, going towards the bathroom.

"What? seriously? You wake me like this then you tell me we've gotta meet a suspect?"

"Life's hard, Castle"

"Yeah. I'll tell you what's hard."

"c'mon! get up! I'm going to take a shower."

"wait!" he jumped out of bed. "I'll go with you"

"No!" she extended her arm, stopping him. "Castle, we need to hurry!"

"Exactly! You need to shower. I need to shower. If we shower together, we'll save time"

"Oh yeah?" She narrowed her eyes. "Okay. but no funny bussiness"

He crossed his fingers on his lips and kissed them. "I swear."

She then smiled and turned around slowly, provocative. It was hard not to do this, even when they were late. He rushed after her, smiling, right when he heard the water running.


	10. Suspect 1

Kate was prepping to go into the interrogation room when Castle came, juggling two cups of coffee and a box with donuts. Esposito was filling her in on the suspect and helped him, taking the box. He then opened it and took one bear claw for himself.

"Great, Castle. Thanks!" Said Espo, leaving them and moving to his own desk.

"But that's..That's…" Castle tried to stop Esposito from taking the donut, since he had only bought two. He handed Kate her coffee, and she was faster than him reaching for the other donut on the box. She took a big bite before he could say anything, and he only pouted. She giggled at his childish reaction and then turned the donut to him, so he could bit it too.

She cleaned her hands on the sides of her pants and took a long sip of her coffee before saying. "Showtime! Are you coming?"

"Yes" he tried to say, but the sound was muffled by the donut on his mouth. He pushed the whole thing into it and ran towards the interrogation room, entering seconds before she closed the door.

The suspect looked nothing suspicious. Something like Captain America before the asteroids, Simon Washburne looked as harmless as an ant. But Kate knew that some ants could sting.

"Mr. Washburne. My name is Detective Kate Beckett." She said, taking the chair before him.

"And who's he?" Simon asked, pointing to Castle.

"mmm –hummmm" he tried to say, but the donut was still on his mouth. Kate looked at him serious, and he just sat.

"This is Richard Castle. He's my partner."

"Seriously? THE Richard Castle?" Simon's eyes were open wide and sparkling. Rick knew that look from all the fans he had met in his life. Great, a fan right when he had a hard time swallowing a donut.

"Man! I've read all your books! Though I have to be honest and say, I think Derrick Storm is so much better than Nikki Heat!"

Kate threw the files on the table hard enough for them to echo on the room, and called Simon's attention.

"Mr. Washburne. We're not here to talk about Mr. Castle's work. We're here to talk about your relation to Adam Baker."

"Adam? Oh, no, really? I can't believe he took it to the cops! Man!" Simon slapped the tip of the table and rolled eyes.

"What, Mr. Washburne?" Asked Castle, finally free from the bear claw.

"Oh, you know. Me taking the sketches. I told him I had borrowed them, to look further. I wouldn't steal from him! He is going to be my boss, so to speak."

"You stole his sketches?"

"Borrowed them. God! Fine! You just give me a few minutes and I'll go get them for you, and you give them back to him. I mean, I thought we were working together."

"We don't care about sketches, Mr. Washburne." And she handed a photo of Adam to him. "Adam was killed last night."

"WHAT?" Simon got up and punched the table with his two fists. Kate and Rick startled back on their chairs. "No way!"  
"I'm afraid this is true. Can you please explain your connection to the victim."

Simon sat again, and Castle noticed his eyes were dark and watery. He took a deep breath and started talking.

"Look, Adam is the most talented person I know. Oh God. Was. He was. Anyway, we met on the forum, and started talking about our projects, and then we exchanged emails and started talking about other stuff too. We became pals. Then one day he arranges to meet at a café. There he presents me with the proposition of becoming partners and opening a studio. I loved the idea!"

"so when you met yesterday, that was what you talked about?"

"Yeah. Well, he then showed me the sketches to the Marvel Game."

"So he had told you about the Marvel deal?"

"Deal? No, he only told me he was working on a project to create a game with Marvel characters. There was a deal? Man, that's why he was so sure he would use those projects. I mean, he hadn't told me anything, so I was really worried with copyrights, you know?"

"And what happened then?"

"I asked him to keep the sketches to analyze and try creating a story for it. You know, possible changes, different levels based on the player's decisions. He told absolutely not! And put the file back in his bag. Then he went to grab another coffee, and I took the file from his bag and went away. I know, not my best moment, and I'm not proud, but if anyone in this situation could kill anyone, that would be him killing me."

"I made sure to send him an email when I got home to tell him I had taken the folder, and that I would give it back, and he would be happy I did it, because I would make it better. But he was too angry. I never spoke to him since."

"and where were you between 11 and 2 am?

He took a few seconds thinking.

"I was playing on my PS3. I'm sure you can check my log."

Kate realized that her guts were right about Simon. He was harmless. She took note to check his log on the playstation network just for paperwork. She looked at Castle before walking out of the room.

"Thanks, Mr. Washburne. Just a few more minutes before you can go" she said by the door, and then left. Castle went just after her. Right before Castle closed the door, Simons called for his attention.

"Hey. You should check magicgamer3. Adam was complaining about her. He even blocked from messaging him at the forum, and she freaked. She posted something horrible about getting to him or something. The moderator erased it, but maybe some experts could recover the message."

Castle nodded as a 'thank you' and closed the door.

Simon just rubbed his hands on his face, wiping away the reluctant tears that were falling from his eyes, remembering his friend and partner.


	11. Suspect 2

**Hey guys, how do you like it so far? I noticed a lot of you favorited the story and there are so many story alerts I'm starting to worry I won't be able to keep up to your expectations xD. please review it too!**

**So, now I'll take the story into one scene I'd love to really see in Castle, after they get together. See if you like it xD.**

**Oh, I'm changing the story to M rated for the language here and future chapters. :p**

* * *

Magicgamer3 was Charlotte Ann Kissinger, and she made herself quite notable when she came out of the elevator at the homicide level of the 12th precinct. A tall and provocative redhead, wearing a tight skirt and high pumps, and a t-shirt that said "Gamer for life" and had a heart on it. The t-shirt collar had been cut off, and it fell slightly on her left shoulder.

Beckett noted that all men were completely useless on that view, so she took over and went to welcome Charlotte. She passed by Castle and nipped his earlobe, waking him up.

"Ouch!" she heard and grinned gladly, extending her arm to shake the woman's.

"Ms. Kissinger, I'm Detective Kissinger. Thanks for coming. Follow me, please" and she gestured towards the interrogation room. She followed her and, by the door, turned to stop Castle from coming in, as he was right behind her.

"No. You are out of this one." She poked him, and then closed the door on his nose. He then joined Ryan, Esposito and every other man on the floor in the observation room.

"May I know why I have been called in, Detective?" the woman asked, putting her little brand purse on the table.

"There's been a murder." She widened her eyes at the detective's words, fear clearly on her face.

"And what does this has to do with me?" she uttered, but Kate noticed her tone of voice was of someone who was lying, and was terrible at it.

"What was your relationship with Adam Baker, ma'am?" She pushed a photo of dead Adam towards her, and the woman flinched. She then turned over the photo, and looked at Beckett.

"Adam and I had absolutely no relationship, detective. I'm sorry he's dead, but I barely knew him! We only talked a few times on the forum, when he was asking for an opinion on his lousy work."

"Lousy? Everyone I have spoken so far said he was a great game designer."

"Only if you are talking about kid's games. It was bad and he knew it, otherwise he wouldn't put it on the internet. But in the end, he didn't know how to take a bad review."

"And you gave him a bad review?"

"Several, actually. Then one time he reacted by criticizing my work, my already published work. I was part of the team who created Mass Attack 3, you know? And he was writing silly notes on the boards about details on the game, saying they were bad and could only be work of the wicked bitch on the west."

"And he would be referring to you?"

"Detective, guys can't handle a woman who can be both sexy and a gamer. And they can definitely not handle a girl being more successful than them at designing games. It's a very competitive area, and they hate it when their fetish wins."

"And you never took it badly? The nickname, the criticism?"

"c'mon! That was child's play. I'm a professional. Why would I dirt my _Louboutins_ with their blood?"

Kate felt a bit sick with that woman. She was terribly disgusting, specially being a game designer. She could never picture a woman like this interested in games. It just didn't make any sense. She started fantasizing if it was possible those bruises on Adam be result of a kick with high heeled pumps.

"It's not what we see here" and she handed a copy of photo of the screen with the message she had posted on the forum against Adam. It was directly directed to him.

_To ironman123 – you filthy swine. You're going down! You post lies about me, that's one thing, but do this in real life, you bastard, that's going too far. Do you really think you can give them what you promised, with your pathetic work? I'm gonna get you, and when I get to you, you're going to back on it, even if I have to kick it out of you."_

"He was beaten to death, you know?" said Kate, just observing the reaction of the woman, seeing right in front of her a message that was supposed to be gone. "and he was kicked." She pointed to the bit of the message that said "even if I have to kick it out of you".

"It wasn't me! That son of a bitch got my Marvel deal! I don't know how he convinced then he could do better than me, but he did it only because he knew I was in on it."

"How could he know? As far I know, his deal was a huge secret. Only his wife knew it"

"Oh yeah, of course she knew it, that conniving bitch. She came to me saying she wanted to get involved in her husband's world, and that she realized we could be friends."

"So you told about it to Julia Baker?" Kate asked, intrigued. So that so confident and disgusting woman had a weak side. She was as lonely as the geeks wearing t-shirts she was competing with. She was a geek, under all that show.

"I might have mentioned it, and she told him, and he went after the Marvel guys right after it. He stole it from me!"

"Sounds like a very good motive to see him dead" Kate made an attempt to take a confession out of her, picturing the face of the guys in the observation room, probably shocked the woman who had caught their attention for being a sexy gamer was now converted into their prime suspect.

"What? No! I mean, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not going to cry and grief by his tomb, but I don't wish death to anyone, detective!" 'Damn!', thought Beckett.

"I want a lawyer" she said, folding her arms, a clear sign she wasn't going to say anything.

Beckett picked back the photo of Adam and the print screen of the message and closed the folder, and then just got up and left the room. She noticed all the guys were leaving the observation room, an amazing number of men inside such a tiny room. Esposito, Ryan and Castle were the last of them.

"She's lawyered up!" She said, disappointed.

"I don't think she did it" said Castle, and she attacked him with her eyes. "Seriously! She might look like a femme fatale, but the woman designs games! She's not a femme fatale. She's probably cosplaying as one of her characters."

Ryan chuckled and Beckett turned her eye-attack on him. "Hey, I'm with Castle."

"Are you sure you just don't want her to be guilty because it would be such a shame to have this woman locked forever?" she said, sarcastically.

"Off course not, Beckett. We're pros!" said Esposito, and the men all grinned. Beckett rolled her eyes and went to her desk.


	12. At the Old Haunt

_**And the secret is out! Let me know What you think, ok? :D**_

* * *

Kate was biting her lip, nervously holding her beer, sitting on one booth at the Old Haunt, unable to take her eyes from the door. Lanie was sitting next to her, and Ryan and Esposito were right across them. They were talking and laughing, but she wasn't paying attention.

She didn't know if she felt relieved or more nervous when she saw Castle coming into his bar with his mother and daughter, each on one side of him.

"Hey, Mr. Castle!" greeted the bartender. "Looking good tonight!" he signaled to the women.

"The finest ladies in New York" Castle greeted back, and Martha and Alexis laughed. The young one then left her father's side to greet the people on the booth, sitting next to Esposito. Martha signed for Castle to sit first, so he could sit next to Kate. She then sit next to them. Castle caught Kate's hand under the table, and squeezed it.

Martha ordered a drink and Alexis asked for a club soda, as Castle ordered a new round of beer for everyone at the table. They joined in the conversation, and Kate had to pretend she was paying attention. Castle felt her hand was cold and sweaty, and they exchanged glances, she telling him clearly with her eyes that she was nervous.

The waiter brought the drinks and when he left Castle interrupted the conversation, calling their attention. He tried to bring both his hands to the table, but Kate didn't let him release hers.

"Okay, fellows. I'm glad to see everyone here. It's always great to be surrounded with friends and family once in a while in a good place such as this."

They all rolled their eyes to his speech, and Kate noticed it wasn't going to take long. She released Castle's hand and took over.

"so, guys. There's something I want to tell you. Something very important." Esposito and Ryan looked worried to her, but Lanie only chuckled, and so did Alexis and Martha.

"What is it, Beckett?" asked Esposito.

"Well…" Kate pondered all the ways she could say it, and then remembered she's not the words person, she's the actions person. So she took suddenly turned right and got Castle face in her hands, giving him a sudden kiss that startled everyone, even him.

Screams of "Hallelujah!" and "finally" and "I knew it" filled the atmosphere, but they just kept kissing between smiles.

"Oh, God, get a room!" said Martha, and they parted laughing. Beckett then turned to her smiley friends and laid her head on Castle's shoulder. She then noticed Alexis was trying too hard to look happy, and she realized she would have to have a private conversation with the girl. Castle noticed his daughter's face too, and asked.

"What is it, Alexis?"

"No, it's fine." She said, fiddling with the straw on her drink. She then looked down and took a sip.

"No, it's not fine. What is it? Aren't you happy for us?"

"Yes, I'm happy for you, dad. It's just…" and she sipped her soda again.

"What?" Castle now slightly raised his voice. Beckett patted his arm, soothing him.

"It's okay, Rick. Alexis, I think we should talk, right?"

The girl raised her eyes to Beckett, and noticed the honest worry on the detective's face. She only nodded and forced a smile, that then became a bit more honest and she noticed her father's disappointment. She didn't want that. She was really happy for them, and it's not like she didn't know that was bound to happen. It's just that, with all the things that had happen those last years, she was worried about how involved he would be in danger now that he was truly involved with Beckett. She excused herself and went to the bathroom.

Everyone at the table looked now worried with Alexis' reaction, but Beckett calmed everyone and went after her.

Alexis was looking at the mirror, trying to convince herself there was no reason to fell that way. She knew Beckett, and knew how important and good she was for her father. She liked the detective, and they were friends. It's not like this was one of his crazy bimbos. It was Beckett.

She took a deep breath as she noticed Kate was behind her through the mirror, and then turned around, leaning at the sink and folding her arms.

"Alexis, look, I understand if you don't like the idea of your father with me. I know I'm not your favorite person in the world right now since I was shot."

"It's not you. I was so afraid for you. It's just that it could've been him!" she said, unable to hold her tears. Kate rubbed her hands gently on the girl's sides.

"I know, and that scares me too. More than remembering that I was hit, it's remembering how close everybody was, and he was." Kate said, and they looked into each other's eyes. Alexis could see she truly loved her father, and she was glad.

"Look, I promise you I'll keep him out of trouble. Now more than ever I worry about him just as much as you do and I know how his meddling can get him into problems."

Alexis remembered the board on his father's study with information on Beckett's mother's murder, and wondered if she knew about it. She thought it was best not to mention it. She held Kate's hands and smiled, a lot more honestly now.

"Look, I love your father, I really do. I've never loved anyone like I love him. But I would hate to have you as an enemy, okay? It would feel wrong to go on without your approval."

"No, Beckett, don't. I.. I'm sorry, I just worry too much about my dad. I approve you. Really." Her smile bigger now.

"Really?" confirmed Kate.

"Yeah. Yeah!" Alexis then held Kate on a big and honest hug, and Kate wiped a tear of relief from her eye.

"Oh, that's so good, Alexis. And hey, it's Kate!"

"Ok, Kate"

"Let's go back?"

"Yeah, let me just wash my face and I'll met you there"

"Okay" Kate gave the girl a kiss on the cheek, and then left the bathroom.


	13. The Murder Board

_**And another secret is out. Because I really think it's important to deal with this one too. **_

_**my first attempt to write some smut. No so good, because I tried to keep it sweet. I'm a romantic, after all :p**_

* * *

Castle was sitting on his desk, trying to write. Alexis and Mother had already gone to bed, and he was missing Kate more than anything. They had agreed it was best for him to go home with Alexis after what happened at the Old Haunt, and he did spend some good ours with his daughter, watching Back to The future again. But now, the light dim and the sound of the night coming from the window, he just wish he could be with Kate.

He stood up and turned the flat screen that stood behind his desk. Then he typed something on the computer and his electronic murder board showed up. A big picture of Kate, his Kate in the middle, and all the information he had gathered of her mother's murder around. The mysterious calls from Mr. Smith in details, and the things he had picked from the file. He touched the screen and brought forward one of the detailed descriptions of the calls.

"_If she goes after them, they'll kill her. And they will make sure she stay dead"_

He remembered each and every call from that mysterious man who claimed to have possession of all Montgomery had on the case, and wanted only to help. But he hadn't told anything concrete, just warnings of how dangerous it was, and how he should keep Kate away from it.

A knock on the door called his attention from the screen, and he went to get it, only closing the door to his office on the way.

He looked through the peep hole and grinned as he saw Kate there, wearing a long coat, probably over her nightgown. She couldn't sleep without him, either.

She smiled when he opened the door, and leaned to give him a kiss.

"are they here?"

"No, they are already sleeping. Come in!" he said, and she threw her arms around his neck, holding him on a long kiss. He held her waist gently and pulled her in, closing the door. She then pulled away and opened her coat, revealing she was wearing an old t-shirt with a picture of Mario the plumber on it. It was long, but covered only her torso, leaving her legs bare. She took off the coat and threw it on the couch.

"So, is that sexy-gamer enough for you, Mr. Castle"

"Oh my God, I don't believe it!" he laughed. "You were jealous!"

"Of course! You should've seen the look on your face when she walked in. The look on everyone's face. It was terrible! And just because she was a sexy lady who played video games. That I am too!"

"Sure you are, sweetie." And he leaned to kiss her, still laughing. She pulled away from him.

"Do you doubt?"

"No! Of course not!"

"Turn on the playstation, Castle, now!" she ordered, and he ran to the tv.

"What game?" he asked, excited, handing her one controller.

"Losers choice. So you can choose it" She said, and he grinned at her provocation.

They spent most of the night playing games and Kate won most times in most games. The last one was a war game and when she killed him for the 10th time, she got up and made a funny victory dance while he whined and turned off the console.

"Meh. I let you in"

"No you didn't, and we both know it! Loser!" she said, poking him while still victory dancing. He got up and went to the kitchen. "I'm gonna prepare some sandwiches. Would you like one?"

"Yeah!" she said, sitting back on the couch and rubbing her stomach, feeling hungry.

While he was preparing the sandwiches, she noticed there was a hole at the bottom of her t-shirt, ripping almost half of it. She tried to rip the bottom out, but she couldn't.

"Hey, Rick. Have you got a pair of scissors?"

"Yeah. In my study." He said, distracted. He only noticed his mistake when she was already halfway to the study. He ran to her, but she opened the door and just stood there, stunned after seeing his murder board, her face looking back at her. All she had on her mother's murder was right there in front of her, organized on a murder board that looked pretty much like the one she had improvised on her window, except that this was a tv screen.

"What's that?" she gasped, when he reached her and held her arms from behind. "What that, castle?" She waved his arms away and turned to face him. Her voice was higher. "Castle, what the hell?"

"Shh, you're going to wake them." He pushed her towards the study, and closed the door. She went to the screen and looked at it closer, her hand covering her mouth in awe at that discovery.

"Kate, I can explain?"

"Yeah? She turned to face him, her face a mixture of anger and sadness, covered in tears. "try me!"

"After you were shot, I just couldn't stop! I thought you were going to die, Kate, and I didn't want this to die with you."

"Oh, so you were being thoughtful? That's adorable, Castle!"

"And when you woke up, and what you told me by the swings, about her murder building a wall on you. I had to do something to help break that wall, Kate. I love you!"

"You lied to me! You kept this from me! Why, Rick?" her voice was weak with the crying, and she then just covered her mouth again with her hands.

"You don't understand, Kate. This is dangerous! It got Montgomery killed, they shot you!"

"What else do you know?" she asked.

"Kate…"

"Tell me!"

He sighed, knowing that he couldn't keep it from her anymore. She was still behind the desk, as if she was trying to keep away from him.

"Montgomery sent all he had to a man."

"Who?"

"He calls me sometimes, and…"

"Who?" she screamed.

"I don't know his name. He calls himself Mr. Smith. He's trying to help, Kate. He told me to keep you away, or else they would kill you."

"Who would kill me?"

"I don't know yet. But you have to promise me to stay away from it."

"How can I be away from it, Castle? All my life I thought my mother had been killed because she was trying to help the wrong people, but now I know it was so much bigger than this. I have to know, Rick! How could you!"

"What do you mean, How could I?" he was now also angry with her. "How can you tell me this? I saw them kill you, Kate. And I know they'll try again. But not if you stay away. They only want you to stay away, and I'll make sure of it"

"No you won't!" she screamed louder. "Don't you dare!"

"Yes, I will, because I won't lose you again, Kate. You may hate me from now on, never see me again, but I won't let them kill you!"

He went around the desk towards her and grabbed her shoulders before she could get away. She was sobbing, weak on his arms. He tried to hug her, but she fought back, and slapped him on the face. He just tried to hold her again, fighting her struggles.

"I don't care what it costs me, Kate. Even if this costs me you, I won't let you walk into your death."

"God, Rick!" she said, her face on his chest, her tears wetting his t-shirt. He held her close and kissed her head, shushing her.

She screamed again on his chest, unable to stop crying, struggling to come out of his embrace again, be he was stronger than her.

"Dammit, Rick! You can't! I have to!"

"No, you don't. Kate, your life is more important now. This is what she would´ve wanted!"

She moaned at the mention of her mother's wishes coming from him, but then just put her arms around him. She put her ear on his chest, and stood there, listening to the beat of his heart.

"I love you, Kate. I love you so much!" he said, crying at the thought of losing her because of this.

"I love you too." She said, her voice muffled by his –tshirt. She pulled away from him and faced his eyes. They stood like this for a few seconds, and then she gently kissed him. The kiss gradually grew and her mouth was now feasting on him, they tongues dancing in their mouths. She pulled him closer and sat on the desk, accommodating him between her legs and pulling him towards her and she lay on the desk. He put his hand on the back of her head as a pillow when she touched the wood, and then went for her neck, kissing and sucking gently the soft skin. His hands then reached the bottom of her t-shirt, pulling it up to reveal her bare torso, and she put her arms up to help him take it off. He threw the Mario t-shirt far away and took one of her breasts in his mouth, kissing and nipping her hard nipple, making her groan. He then went down and kissed her belly, putting his hands on both sides of her hips, the thumbs under the elastic of her panties. Then he grabbed it with both hands and pulled them out of her. He stopped to admire his beautiful woman naked, and then took off his clothes as well. She stood up and helped him, opening his pants and sliding them down, then put her hands on his sides to pull him towards her, helping them fit.

As he slid into her, she grabbed his neck and pulled it to her, grabbing his mouth eagerly. His hands were on her hips, moving her slowly as he thrust himself into her on a rhythmic pace, going faster and faster as they both felt they were about to come.

She held him close as she reached the orgasm, lacing her fingers in his hair and pulling them slightly as she came. He moaned and screamed her name on her ear, reaching it at the same time she did, and they stood in that position, holding each other tight as they slowly caught their breaths. He could feel her sweaty bosom go up and down as she took deep breaths, feeling her warm breath on his ear. That was turning him on again, and he turned to face her. Her eyes were still teary, but now also showed lust and love. He kissed her on the lips and then asked.

"Do you forgive me?"

"I love you, Rick" that was all she said, and it was enough for now. He pulled her up from the desk, holding her up while walking towards his bedroom. She held him tight while he carried her and started nipping his earlobe, what made him walk faster.


	14. forgiveness

**_Short chapter. I'm still getting over 'Undead again' and the promo for 'Always'. Omg you guys! can't wait! _**

**_Hey, I didn't get that many reviews for the last chapters I wrote, and that's driving me nuts! Please, review, ok? Otherwise I can't know if you like it or what do you want to see in the next chapters._**

**_Some ideas have been considered and will appear soon xD xo_**

* * *

Castle turned on his sleep and stretched his arm to find her, but he only touched the empty side of the bed. Her scent was still on the pillow, but there was no sign of her in the bedroom or the bathroom. He got up, washed away his sleep and went to his study.

He found her there, looking at the murder board on his flat screen, analyzing everything he had put on it. She was wearing her Mario t-shirt again, and had borrowed a pair of boxers from his closet. He leaned against the door and stood there quiet, observing her.

She was so caught up on what she was reading that she took a few minutes to notice him. She smiled and extended her arm, calling for him. He went close and hugged her, resting his arms on her shoulders.

"Will you ever forgive me?" He asked, remembering that last night she hadn't said she actually forgave him.

"I already did, Rick." She said, and kissed his hand. "I understand why you kept it from me, but I wanna know. Would you ever tell me? I mean, what if you had something concrete, something that could actually put you on the right trail. What would you do?"

"I.. I don't know." He never really thought about that. "I guess I would try not to tell you. Ask Ryan and Esposito, another precinct. You would know, eventually, but if we had any luck, you would know after the danger was over."

"So you wouldn't tell me still?" she leaned her head trying to catch his eyes with hers. He did the same, and their eyes met.

"Kate, please. If I told you, you would run off like crazy, probably wouldn't care about back up or an actual plan. The first time you told me about your mother you said you couldn't open this wound otherwise you wouldn't be able to stop. I just know you that well."

"You're right."

"So you gotta promise me that you won't dig deeper into this." He turned off the screen and turned to face her, putting his hands on her hips. She rested her elbows on his shoulder, but avoided his eyes.

"I can't promise you that, Rick" she said, honestly. He shook his head nervously, and pulled her close. She hugged him back, resting her head on his chest.

"Please, Kate. I'll burn everything if I need to."

"No! Please don't. Okay, I promise to keep it low-key. I just need to look at what you have found, please, don't deny me that. And I promise I won't go after this by myself, if I find something else, I'll take it to another detective. Another precinct, if necessary."

"You don't need to do that. That's our case. We gotta solve this together. Ryan and Espo would say the same." She finally raised her head to face him, and was glad to see the look on his eyes. They smiled. "But you have to know you are not alone in this."

"I know." She touched his lips with hers in a long kiss. Then, both their stomachs growled, almost at the same time that a smell of fresh coffee came from the kitchen.

"Kids? Are you two decent?" said Martha, close to the door. "I'm making breakfast. And Kate, dear, Alexis want to be sure you know she's happy you're here." Kate smiled after listening to that. Hitting of with Alexis was all she wanted.

"We're coming out, mom." Rick screamed.

"How does she know I'm here?" Whispered Beckett.

"Oh, the Castle women, they know everything. And you know, you weren't that quiet last night." He said. "Both times."

"What do you mean, both?"

"When you were screaming at me, and when you were screaming with me."

They both grinned, and headed to the kitchen to join Martha and Alexis.


	15. Red suits you, Kate!

**_Hey! thanks a lot for the reviews! keep them coming! So, I'm a bit stuck with the case :p so I had fun writing this one so we could have a cute moment to laugh with. This was one suggestion given by one of you, so I hope I did it right! xo_**

* * *

Kate had an overnight bag in her car, so after breakfast she took a shower and got ready for work in the loft.

It all felt so amazingly weird, how he was shaving while she was showering, or how Alexis hugged her goodbye after kissing everyone before leaving. It looked like family. And it didn't freak her out.

They were about to leave when Martha noticed the nasty red mark on her neck.

"Oh, dear. Look at that!" she said, pointing at it. Kate ran to the bathroom and found it. Damn!

"Castle!" she screamed, going out of the bathroom like a storm.

"Yes, dear?" he said, calmly, enjoying the moment.

"Did you see this?" she said, raising her jaw to show him the hickey. He burst out laughing.

"Oh my god! I've outdone myself!"

She slapped his arm hard enough to make him stop laughing.

"Ouch!" he screamed.

"You're lucky I'm not with my gun!"

"You would shoot me because of a hickey? Kate, my love, you should go to one of those anger management programs."

She slapped him again.

" Ouch! Okay, okay, I'm sorry! It wasn't on purpose, it was the heat of the moment. And you liked it when I was kissing you."

"Yeah! But you didn't have to leave marks, did you?"

He had a joke about how he was marking his territory, making her his, but that would probably make her use her martial arts training on him.

"Hey, love. Just. Calm down. I live with an actress who has just run upstairs to catch something, probably make up that would cover anything, okay?"

"Oh, dear, no makeup would cover that one" said Martha, climbing down the stairs. Beckett turned her eyes nervously to Castle, her gaze as fireballs towards him.

"Really, mother? That's how you help me?"

"I'm sorry, kiddo, but you made a very good job there!" she patted his shoulder, both to congratulate him and to push him away.

"here, dear, I've got a solution" she threw a red silk scarf over Beckett's neck. It was really fancy. She turned it around her neck twice, just enough to cover the mark. And it also went pretty well with her clothes, making her look fancier.

"It's not the best solution, but it will cover for now. I'm sure I can find some good make up to cover it with some makeup artists I know. Don't worry"

"Martha, I..." Kate said, looking at the scarf and adjusting it to her neck" that's very pretty, thank you!"

"No problem, dear."

"It looks great" castle said, and she fired him with her eyes again. He raised his hands before him in defense.

"Hey! Problem solved! Don't you think you can cut me some slack now?" she only grabbed her purse, said goodbye to Martha with a hug, thanking her again, and moved towards the door.

"You know, babe, you can give me one if it's such a problem. We go out with matching hickeys!"

She only opened the door, went through it and then slammed it, closing it on him. "Okay, easy on the assault. Will you? It's just a hickey!"

She then turned around to face him, putting her long index finger between his eyes.

"You try being a respectable female cop among millions of men with 'just' a hickey, Castle!"

"Um...I love you?" he was out of arguments, so he relied on how much he loved her, that moment, and how angry she was. Her face relaxed a bit after he said it, and she had to try hard not to smile.

"Let's go"

"I'll punch anyone who tries to mock you for it, Kate. Ill be your knight in a shining armor!"

"You'll just gloat over the fact that you did it!" she said, and he smirked.

"Well, that will come after the punch, I swear.

It was a slow day. They spent most of the time looking at the murder board, trying to figure out where to go next. Adam seemed to be the nicest guy on the planet, and no one would have reasons to kill him, specially beat him to death. Nothing made sense.

Kate threw herself on her chair, helpless, taking a deep breath and letting it out on a puff. Castle instantly appeared with a fresh coffee mug out of the break room, as if he had read her mind. She took it gladly and took a sip, not caring that the beverage was hot.

"So, that's it, then?"

"I don't know! It just… we interviewed the two people who had reasons to do him any harm, and now we have nothing!" She said, loosing the scarf a bit around her neck. She wasn't used to wear scarves when it wasn't winter, and the day was still bright and warm.

"Fear not, my friends!" Ryan came from his desk, with a pose. Both Castle and Beckett looked at him surprised, and he continued on his performance. "I bring to thee the solution".

"Great, Shakespeare!" Mocked Beckett. "What have you got?" He lost the act and just said it, plain old Kevin Ryan.

"I was digging through Adam's emails, you know, to make sure, and I found this locked folder. It took a while to open it, I mean, the guy was good, he knew about computers, so if he wanted something password protected…"

"got it, Ryan. Move on!"

"Oh, okay." And he threw a piece of paper on her desk, both she and Castle leaning over to read it. "Well, after we opened it, we found what should obviously be there – emails about the Marvel deal. But we also found this" and he pointed to the paper.

"A threat!" Beckett said, picking the paper before Castle could read it, so he got up from his chair and moved to go behind her. The paper had a clear threat on it, sent by email to Adam a few months before his murder.

_Hey, loser. I know what you're doing to my sister, you dick, and you better back off or I'll make sure you never walk again! She's out of your league, you geek! Get the hell out of her life!_

"And this wasn't the only one." Said Ryan. When brother here heard they had gotten married, he really made the threat more serious. Check it out.

_You're dead, Baker. Do you hear me? No sister of mine will call herself Baker, a loser!_

"Oh, but that's too serious!" Said Kate, trying not to look too happy she had finally found something. Maybe it had nothing to do with Adam's job after all. But why Julie didn't mention her brother's hate for her husband, that was really bugging her. She bit her bottom lip, thoughtful, and scratched her neck. She only noticed when Ryan said:

"Is that a hickey?" he narrowed his eyes and boldly stretched a finger to try taking the scarf out of the way. She nearly bit it.

"I know! Good one, hun?" Said Castle, and she punched him in the arm. "I mean, don't even try to be funny, Ryan. Beckett's a serious cop_! Who's just fire in bed!"_ He whispered, and she punched him again.

"Well, I know she's a serious cop. Why would I doubt that?" Ryan said, and Kate looked fondly to her almost brother.

"You see? I don't know why you worry so much." She was still mad at Castle, so she just took her coffee mug and moved to the murder board, adjusting the scarf on her neck.

"Good one, bro." Ryan said, and both men high-fived.

* * *

_**So, what do you think of the angry brother thing? I think it's a nice twist, and have some ideas on how to go on with this. tell me what you think!**_


	16. Bullying

Hey guys! sorry I took a while to continue this. I have to confess I was stuck, and you'll probably notice this in the chapter :/

Disclaimer - Castle doesn't belong to me, and you'll probably notice that Sam Tyler doesn't belong to me either, and if you know to whom he belongs to, I love you!

* * *

When they went to pick up Sam Tyler, He wasn't there. The apartment was messy and his coffee was still hot in the mug. He had just fled what means someone tipped him off. Kate ordered an APB on him, and went straight to Julie Baker.

Now Julie was in an interrogation room, tapping her fingers nervously on the table, chewing her lower lip and wiping the sweat from her eyebrows. She knew something, and Kate would take it out of her.

She entered the room quietly, Castle right behind her, and both sat in front of Julie, her face going from nervous to frightened and then back to nervous. Kate cleaned her throat and started talking.

"So, Julie, why didn't you tell us about your brother Sam?"

"What does Sam have to do with this?" she said, sitting straight.

"Could you tell us about the relationship between your brother and your husband?" said Castle, and Kate handed her the messages Sam had sent Adam.

"I… They… What is this?" she skimmed the paper, and immediately covered her mouth with her spare hand, starting to cry. "My brother didn't do anything, I swear!"

"So Sam and Adam weren't exactly friends, were they?"

"Sam never liked Adam. He was the bully that treated Adam like trash when we were kids, and never liked us being friends. Later, when Sam turned 19 he left the house. He didn't have a good relationship with my mother either. I've hardly seen him lately. I know he didn't do anything because he's in Las Vegas, working there as a bellboy. I didn't even know about these messages. I mean, I told him we got married, but he said he was happy for me."

"Sam has been living here in the city. We went to his apartment and the coffee was still in the mug. Do you really expect us to believe that you didn't know that, since he has been contacting you?"

"I didn't! He always said he was in Vegas!"

"If he thought it was so important to keep in touch with you, why wouldn't he want to see you personally? What aren't you telling me, Julie?" said Kate, serious.

"I swear! He lied to me, then! I don't know, maybe he didn't want to meet Adam!"

"It doesn't make sense" pondered Castle. "He was here, and he called you telling you he was in Vegas. He never tried to convince you to give up on this marriage, and then comes out of nowhere to kill Adam."

"It wasn't him!" she screamed, her eyes swollen with tears.

"Did your brother know about Adam's Marvel deal?" Asked Beckett, a little more calm, and Julie lowered her eyes.

"I might have told him" she admitted, and then started to cry, realizing she was now more than ever putting the blame on her brother. "He wasn't happy about my marriage, of course, and then I told him Adam would be famous with his new game. And I guess it slipped that it had to do with Marvel. But he wouldn't kill Adam! Sam knew that he was my life!"

"How far would your brother go with his bullying?" asked Beckett, and Julie was confused. They remained in silence for a while, and then she tapped the file on the table and stood up. Castle followed her while she left the room, leaving Julie crying.

"I don't think she knew about this" he said when the door closed. Kate was still too serious.

"I'm sure she does. What makes me so angry, Castle, because she came with that cute story, but I think she and her brother were just two bullies who made Adam's life a living hell and he fell in love with the wrong person".

"Why do you think that?" Castle was surprised by Kate's reaction.

"I just feel it" she said, and moved towards Esposito's desk. He was talking on the phone, and after hanging up he turned to Beckett.

"They found Sam! He was on his way out of town, at the bus station. Uniforms are bringing him in now"

"Great! Put him on the other room. Don't let Julie know we've got him".

She stood in front of the murder board looking at Adam's picture. A shy smile was on his face, and he was a cute boy. Kate had a feeling in her guts that wouldn't go away that this had to do with Sam and Julie together, bullying Adam all his life. They didn't have anywhere else to go to know exactly how their relationship was when they were kids. Adam's mother died 7 years ago and Julie and Sam's was out of the country. She felt sorry for Adam, and most of all she hated herself for believing in Julie's love story when they first met, and relating it to her story with Castle. She couldn't look at Julie anymore without seeing a liar. A woman who married a poor boy who loved her truly because he was about to be rich. Kate was a woman in love, and she hated that people would do this to such an amazing thing.

She felt his breath behind her ear as he came close and sat beside her on the table. Without saying a thing, she tilted her head to lie on his shoulder as he put an arm behind her. She held his other hand with hers, and they both stood there while they waited for Sam to arrive.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. I am. I just hate that everywhere I look in this case, I see this as a result of bullying. Sam and Julie going after their favorite victim."

"Why do you think Julie is behind this? Maybe she really loves Adam."

"I don't know, Castle. Imagine you love someone, and your brother keeps bullying him. Wouldn't you break any ties with have with your brother? It's impossible to keep both."

Castle opened his mouth, but realized he couldn't say anything else about this. Somehow, Kate was right. It was a difficult situation, and Julie seemed to have handled it very well, which was weird.

Sam Tyler came into the precinct carried by two cops, who gave him to Ryan and Esposito and went away while the two detectives dragged the man to the second interrogation room. He was reluctant to go, and fought a lot. Kate noticed something that was definitely going to solve this case. Sam Tyler was wearing army boots.


End file.
